Index
contracts or short-term tourist housing leases are agreements that are raised to a legal level in the form of contracts between two parties, the owner and the tenant . The owner is the one who makes the use and enjoyment of a certain property available to the tenant, on the other hand, it is the tenant who will occupy the property for a short period of time, which will be used as a vacation, either as a rest, leisure, tourism or other purposes in exchange for the payment of rent for it.
The need for a tourist or vacation rental contract lies in the fact that it is the only way to validate and make legal an agreement between 2 parties with the intention of it being registered, written and signed. In addition to this, the tourist rental contract indicates the housing rules, as well as the consequences of non-compliance. In cities where a tourist tax is required, the amount will be detailed in the tourist rental contract .
By signing the tourist rental contract, both parties are protected against any type of discrepancy. In the case of conflict between both parties, the tourist rental contract will be our safeguard to state that the other person has signed a document that contains certain conditions, which can tip the balance towards one party or the other.
Among the conditions signed in the contract, it should be stated that the data provided when filling the part of travelers must be transferred to the authorities. Check-in Scan tool , the owner will be able to do the check-in automatically, without the need for paper and send the data to the authorities at the time of check-in. The tool also offers you the option to make personalized rental contracts.
Is the Check-in Scanapp?
Create personalized rental contracts and automatically check-in your guests.
A tourist rental contract formalizes an agreement carried out between 2 parties and defines the rights and duties of the host and the guest . In the case of disputes, it will be a legal and binding tool that can be used to solve problems.
Broadly speaking, the typology of housing leases in Spain can be summarized in 2 types:
In Spain, for a tourist rental contract to be valid and binding, it must meet certain legal requirements. The elements that must be included in a contract of this type are the following:
It must be clearly specified who the landlord (owner or property manager) and the tenant (guest) are. The binding identification data of each person must also be specified: Name and surname, ID, telephone number, address, email address.
It is essential to describe in detail the property being rented, including its address, characteristics, inventory and state of conservation.
We recommend that you attach an inventory sheet to the vacation rental contract, which includes the equipment of the home.
The duration of the contract must be established, indicating the start and end dates of the stay. Many owners add a minimum stay for their guests to the contract, with the intention of ensuring that the efforts made to prepare the accommodation for the stay of one or more guests will achieve a minimum useful time.
The total rental amount, possible additional fees (e.g. cleaning or services, VAT, tourist tax), and payment conditions, including permitted terms and methods, must be specified.
In the event that you want to request a bond or security deposit, the contract must specify its amount, return conditions and reasons why it could be withheld.
Every contract must specify which payment methods are accepted when checking in or out of the stay. This must also be explicitly specified in the vacation rental contract.
We recommend that you stick to payments by card or transfer, in addition to reservations through the website or tourist OTAS.
A vacation rental contract must always specify the maximum guest capacity of the home. If a problem arises in the home and the number of guests is greater than the capacity indicated on the certificate of occupancy , you could have legal problems.
Specify in the vacation rental contract a time for entering and leaving the home. This is normally done with the intention of establishing an orderly time slot at decent times to enter or exit the home.
It is necessary to detail the obligations of the landlord and the tenant, such as the maintenance of the property, respect for the rules of coexistence, and the proper use of the property.
Accommodation cancellation policies must be included in the vacation rental contract, indicating the deadlines and possible penalties in case one of the parties wants to cancel the contract before its end. The conditions under which the amount must be returned or not and the way in which the reservation will be refunded must be indicated.
The contract must contemplate the tenant's responsibilities regarding damages and must mention whether the landlord has obtained all the necessary authorizations to rent the property for tourist purposes.
It is common to include a clause indicating that the contract is governed by law and specifying the competent court in case of disputes.
Including these elements in the contract protects the interests of both parties.
In Spain it is not mandatory to sign a vacation rental contract between the host or owner and the guest, except in Andalusia and the Canary Islands where it is mandatory. This diversity in the law is due to the fact that vacation rentals are governed by Law 29/1994, also known as LAU (Urban Rental Law). In this sense, each autonomous community or municipality has the power to establish its own regulations, establishing in some of these the obligation to establish a vacation rental contract between host and guest.
We always recommend establishing any type of legal link with the tenant of the property to be subject to a series of rights and obligations on the part of both the guest or tenant and the host or owner.
